Modern Art Desserts for Mother's Day

Tickle Mom pink with a cake that evokes spring with its alternate layers of bright yellow lemon curd and yellow cake. To achieve the pale pink color and to lend flavor to the buttercream frosting, Freeman's recipe calls for cooking fresh strawberries into a rosy concentrate. But if fresh berries can't be had, she tells us, go with frozen strawberries or raspberries. And for a shortcut, she suggests using jam. "Jam's a little sweeter [than strawberry concentrate], so you don't want to add quite as much, but that is a great way to flavor buttercream," says Freeman. "You're also probably not going to get quite as much concentrated pink color, but it will be a nice flavor." Make sure the jam is at room temperature, she notes, and if you want a smooth, seedless frosting, be sure to strain the jam before adding it to the buttercream.